


The Duplicity Of Man

by frozenciel



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Kiibo Abuse, Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It of Sorts, How Do I Tag, I'm so sorry, It's Danganronpa what do you expect, Kodaka don't interact, Kokichi and Kaito both live, Mostly character death fix-it, New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, Not Beta Read, Not really important to the story though, Not shippy but can be seen as so, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Ouma not Oma, Stars at the 5th trial, Swearing, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, none of them are straight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 20:37:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15736911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozenciel/pseuds/frozenciel
Summary: Kaito Momota has had a terrible past few days, and for once, it isn’t just because of that goddamn two-toned build-a-bear reject.To top everything else off, now he’s still stuck in that goddamned Exisal with Kokichi Ouma, left outside the courtroom until Monokuma decides to allow them in.(Kaito and Kokichi survive the 5th 'death')





	The Duplicity Of Man

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a drawing by @tryingtowhisper over on tumblr. Go check them out!

Kaito Momota has had a terrible past few days, and for once, it  _ isn’t  _ just because of that goddamn two-toned build-a-bear reject. 

No. On top of  _ that  _ usual bullshit, he’s been: sick, kidnapped, stuck in a hangar with the asshole with trust issues, been told of an escape plan by two different people (three, if you count his own with Himiko), only executing one of them—and being  _ shot  _ during it, even if it was slightly his fault—lost his jacket and shirt, snuck  _ out  _ of said hangar, and  _ finally  _ he’s been stuffed into a tiny-ass Exisal with aforementioned Mr. Trust Issues. Oh, and not to mention the asshole  _ insisted  _ on getting rid of his clothes to add to the mystery, so  _ of course  _ the most logical thing to do was sneak back into his room while the others were investigating  _ their deaths.  _ At least he was able to get another one of his jackets and shirt thanks to it, but that doesn’t mean the experience was enjoyable. 

And now he’s  _ still  _ stuck in that goddamned Exisal with Kokichi Ouma, left outside the courtroom until Monokuma decides to allow them in. It’d be fine if he was on his own. But no. To add to everything else that’s happened to him in the last week (had it even been a week?) the Exisal is only made to fit  _ one  _ person, at most, so there’s practically no space for both him and Kokichi. One of the asshole’s elbows has been digging into his side for the past ten minutes, and no matter how many times he puts the shorter in a headlock, he refuses to move. At this point, he almost  _ wishes  _ he was the one under that hydraulic press instead of those goddamn bags of blood, which he still can’t figure out where or how Kokichi found. The only  _ good  _ thing about this entire situation is that, somehow, they successfully fooled Monokuma without actually killing anyone. Well, that isn’t necessarily true, since they were  _ both  _ hit with Maki’s poisoned arrows and he  _ still _ severely doubts the fact that only drinking half of the antidote each will actually cure them, but at least they’re alive. For now.

It could be worse, he  _ knows  _ that, but he can’t find it in himself to think about that—much less anything—when Kokichi refuses to shut up. It’s mostly his usual shtick. Taunting, off-hand sarcastic remarks, annoyed mumbles. But there’s an underlying anxiety there—Kaito’s learned to pick it up from Shuichi, but he’s not letting  _ Kokichi  _ know that in case he puts up another mask. He’s nervous too, of course, but he has faith in his sidekicks. And everyone else, of course, despite Kokichi’s continuous mumblings of still not knowing the mastermind. (He saw the corkboard in the leader’s room, despite Kokichi’s far-too-loud objections of what was on it.) (Mostly on trusting Shuichi.)

“This is getting so boring!” Kokichi whines,  _ again,  _ slumping himself against Kaito’s side dramatically. “It’s not like Monokuma  _ knows  _ what happened. Can’t my beloved wrap this up so we can get the trial over with already?”

Kaito’s learned a lot about Kokichi. A few things that he’d heard Shuichi theorize about, others more abstract. Mostly that the boy carries around far too much emotional turmoil to be normal. His first instinct was to demand to know everything on the spot, but something told him that would provide the opposite effect. He’s been . . . trying. Kokichi isn’t necessarily the most cooperative of people when it comes to emotions.

“Hey, I was actually wonder—”

Of course,  _ just  _ when he’s about to say something important, he’s interrupted. He’s not even surprised as Monokuma’s voice rings through the Exisal speakers. “ _ Hey Mister Suspect! That’s your cue! _ ”

Mister Suspect. He can feel Kokichi loosen up, even in the slightest, though once again he won’t be the one to call it out. In an instant, the shorter boy seems to lose all anxiety as he clambers over Kaito for the controls, far too excited to dramatically saunter the Exisal inside the courtroom. It jumps in behind Kaito’s picture as the others ring out in alarm and surprise around them. Just as suddenly as he began, Kokichi drops the controls, presses the mic button, and smirks over to Kaito. Oh yeah. He’s supposed to speak first. He almost forgot. 

“Woah! My bad, guys. I guess I scared you a bit, huh?” As he speaks, he watches their reactions through the small touchscreen installed between controllers. They’re as Kokichi predicted—Maki and Shuichi especially. It’s almost chilling how well he predicted things to turn out. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Kokichi brighten up at the realization.

“K-Kaito?” Maki. It hurts to think about what she’s going through, especially since he can’t comfort her or reassure her things weren’t her fault until the trial ends. But he can’t botch things now, as Kokichi had previously put it. They were so close.

“Hey, Maki Roll! Sorry about that. A lots been going on, you know? I figured I could just hide in here until it all passed.” Half a lie. Kokichi had, in detail, given him a crash course in lying, despite having declared him as ‘hopeless’ many times in the past. (Even though Kaito now knows that was just Kokichi’s own way of showing he could care for someone.) He isn’t anywhere as flawless as the leader, but it seems to be doing the trick. “I just got the news of Monokuma calling us down! So, what’d I miss?”

The courtroom is silent for a few seconds. Kokichi suppresses a giggle from beside him, leading Kaito to turn off the microphone for now. If all goes accordingly—and, with how Kokichi’s predictions have turned out so far, he’s sure they will—he won’t be the next to speak. 

Sure enough, Tsumugi breaks the silence. “W-wait. So Kaito wasn’t . . . he didn’t die?”

He scoots over as much as he can as Kokichi bolts forward, once again giddily taking up the controls and microphone. He tries not to wince as the leader’s elbow once again digs into his side. “I can’t believe you’re all so stupid! Of  _ course  _ the idiot’s dead! That was just a lie!” Despite it all being word vomit (Kokichi’s term), Kaito can’t help but take  _ some  _ offense to that, lightly kicking the shorter in the legs as best as he can from his current position they quickly maneuver to Kokichi’s podium. The boy momentarily sticks out his tongue before laughing into the microphone and continuing. “I can’t believe  _ you  _ thought  _ I  _ died! Do you really think I could go down that simply? That’s embarrassing!”

Maki, as Kokichi said, doesn’t look too happy to hear his voice again. Kaito can’t help but wince as her voice comes in, cold and lifeless. She sounded like that when she almost—

No. He shouldn’t focus on that. It wasn’t her fault. She thought Kokichi was evil—the  _ mastermind _ —and while Kaito doesn’t approve of her behaviour, he knows she was only trying to do what she thought was best. It’s what they’ve all been trying to do all along. Even Kokichi. ( _ Even if it meant sacrificing himself _ .)

Kokichi, of course, doesn’t let his emotions shows as he cheerfully responds. “Aw! I didn’t know you all cared so much to be so angry! I’m touched.”

“Kokichi?” That gets both of their heads turning. Shuichi. The one person who can completely destroy all their plans. Both him and Kokichi have done their best to make sure that isn’t the case, Kokichi especially, but Kaito can’t help but want the detective to figure it out. The Ultimate Detective solving the ultimate mystery. One way or another, he’ll be proud of him for trying. “How do we know that’s really you in there? Show yourself!”

Kokichi pouts, even though he knows fully well no one but Kaito can see it. “Well, I don’t want to die  _ now  _ that I’ve gotten so far! If I take one step out of here, Miss Assassin will surely kill me! None of us want that,  _ right _ ?” From the look on Maki’s face, Kaito severely doubts that, but he knows that this is for the best. Maki will understand when they explain themselves. He believes in his sidekicks, after all. “I know, I know! It’s hard to believe me when I look like this! Red is so not my color. But don’t worry! That’s what the evidence is for!”

“E-Evidence?”

“Voala! The video camera!” It took so long to get everything on there to be perfect, and it didn’t help that they only had one chance to do it right. First, Kaito had to trust Kokichi on knowing what he was doing. Fine, that was simple, since  _ he  _ wasn’t the one on the team with trust issues. But then they had to methodically arrange everything to be just right—the blood bags, the mannequin arm he  _ also  _ isn’t sure where Kokichi found, and the camera itself. Half of him still can’t believe they actually pulled it off. 

Objections and comments burst up from the others. Kokichi almost frowns. 

“Hold all questions until the end of the presentation, please! Heey, Monokuma! Would you do me a  _ teensy little favor  _ and connect this little thing to the monitor?  _ Please _ ?”

Monokuma, of course, is quick to comply. Despite knowing it’s all fake, Kaito can’t bear to look at the video as it plays. It’s his own death that he’s supposed to be looking at. He understands his friends’ reactions to it far too well. Both him and Kokichi had difficulties scanning it over once they were done for any faults. The boy in question has his eyes shut tight, arms wrapped around his stomach until they’re both sure the video’s stopped playing. With a barrier between him and the others, it’s almost unnerving to see Kokichi show any emotion other than his usual giddy pride or teasing. 

And as suddenly as he appears, he’s gone. “Yep yep! That’s all, folks! The moment Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars, met his end! I’m proud to announce that this video has in now way been edited! This camera’s far too shitty for  _ that _ . All it can do is play, pause, and record.  _ Bo-ring _ . Oh, and I totally didn’t rig it up to any computers. Isn’t that right, Monokuma?”

“. . .”

“Come on, Monokuma, we’re all friends here. Your input is just as valuable as robocop's over there!” (In Kaito’s defense, he tried to get Kokichi to promise to hold back on the insults about Kiibo. Tried and failed, but it was the thought that counts.)

As Kiibo stutters out a remark, Monokuma’s keen to answer. Good. Another step over and done with. With that, they’ll have one less thing to worry about moving forward. It’s only Shuichi and the true mastermind now—along with Maki, but that’s another issue altogether. 

“See, see? Everything you’ve seen is 100% real! No doubt about it now!” Technically, it’s not a lie. Everything  _ is  _ real. Everything but the victim. 

“In that case, that means . . .” Kiibo falters for a second, hesitant. “The body inside of the hydraulic press can’t be anyone but Kaito.” 

“I-I can’t believe it.” Himiko hesitates as well, clutching her stomach gingerly. “Kaito died so gruesomely . . . with his guts and brains splattered everywhere . . . I think I’m gonna be sick . . .”

Even though Kaito knows that there’s no one  _ truly  _ underneath the machine, he feels sick to his stomach as well. He can still see the press coming down. It very well  _ could’ve  _ been him, or even Kokichi, if only conditions were in any way different. One of them could’ve been  _ executed  _ for this. In all honesty, he still isn’t sure they  _ won’t  _ be. Kokichi’s certain that if they’re able to fool the mastermind, this entire thing will be over. Kaito believes in him (sort of) but he also fully believes that whoever is behind this is insane enough to see it through until the very end. 

Kokichi laughs as no one else speaks up, grinning despite being unseen. “That’s it! You all totally believe I’m the one in the Exisal now,  _ right _ ? Well you’re all  _ totally _ correct!” Half a lie. 

Kiibo nods. “Yes. With this information, I am sure that we can all conclude that the culprit, and Kaito’s murderer, can only be you.”

“Huh?” Kokichi tilts his head, setting a hand on his cheek. Kaito noticed that he’d painted them purple at some point during all of this clusterfuck, but he has absolutely no clue where the hell Kokichi found the supplies for it. (Probably wherever the fuck those blood bags and mannequin arm came from.) “Little old me? Why is that?”

Kiibo tries to explain himself, only to be hastily interrupted by Shuichi.  _ Fuck.  _ Both of the boys features turn into grimaces as Kokichi loudly steps in to interrupt Shuichi before he can go too far. The video’s meant to show for a  _ fact  _ that one of them is a culprit, not to bring any more suspicion to what they pulled. 

“Okay, I’ll admit it! You got me. I just hopped in this Exisal to jazz up the trial! Things would be  _ so  _ boring otherwise!” Kokichi’s smile widens. “I took that video so I could show you guys the truth after you got the right answer!” He laughs, awkwardly, though Kaito can tell it’s forced. “I guess I just got  _ so  _ into this debate that I forgot! My bad!”

Kaito can only hope that got Shuichi off their trail. Kokichi’s lies are distracting, sure, but they can’t last for long. Though he hates it, they don’t Shuichi on their side for this one. As long as everyone else believes what Kokichi says, everything should go according to plan. Majority rules in a class trial. Maki wants Kokichi dead no matter what, so all they need to do is get the others on her side. 

“Well, I can’t really deny it now! So . . . I give up! You’ve caught me red handed!”

“Um . . . does that mean that things are decided?”

“Is it okay for a trial to be so short?” As she speaks, Tsumugi momentarily looks back at Monokuma. Kokichi bites his lower lip, pulling a notepad and pencil from his pockets and quickly scribbling something down, elbowing Kaito at least a dozen times in the process. He tries to catch what’s being written, but Kokichi’s handwriting is far too loose and messy for him to figure out  _ anything,  _ much less its purpose. The utensils are put away as quickly as they came, so Kaito decides to ask about it later and instead focus on the trial. 

“Before we vote, there’s something I want to say to Kokichi.” Maki. She’s glaring at both of them, straight into their souls. Kaito’s never been afraid of her until now. Kokichi doesn’t seem bothered by it at first glance, but Kaito doesn’t miss the underlying fear in his eyes. “Just because you’re the mastermind doesn’t mean you’re getting off without punishment. You violated the rules. Doesn’t that ruin the ideologies that Junko Enoshima created? Your  _ beloved  _ Junko Enoshima.”

_ Wait. _

What the fuck.

Kokichi looks up at him in confusion, a small ‘. . . Junko?’ accidentally escaping his lips. Kaito shrugs, shaking his head. He’s never heard that name before. It’s definitely a female’s, which doesn’t line up with Kokichi at all. The only people he’s ever heard Kokichi refer to as ‘a beloved’ have been Rantaro and Shuichi, both of which are very clearly guys. Not to mention he has  _ no  _ fucking clue what she has to to with Kokichi being the so-called ‘mastermind.’ Especially since Kokichi himself doesn’t seem to know, either.

“Hold up! This isn’t right!” You can say  _ that  _ again. “The culprit comes in, confesses, and the trial ends? Things don’t work like that! That’s not the game Junko or Monokuma  _ or  _ Kokichi would want!”

That name  _ must  _ mean something. Shuichi wouldn’t throw it around for no reason. Lumping  _ her  _ in with both Monokuma and Kokichi can’t be a coincidence, either. Does she have something to do with all of this? If so, what? And when did they even hear of her?

“What if he’s simply gotten tired of it? Didn’t the Remnants of Despair do—” What. The fuck. 

This time, Kokichi outright leans over and mutes the microphone, turning to look back at Kaito with what he can only describe as pure frustration. He’s never seen him look so genuinely pained before. 

“Who the  _ fuck  _ is Junko Enoshima.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing these characters, so I apologize in advance if they're OOC.


End file.
